82nd Airborne Division

ARTICLES ABOUT 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION BY DATE - PAGE 2

Robert L. Nielsen was born March 16, 1921 in Chicago and died in his sleep August 25, 2006 in Salisbury, North Carolina. Preceding him in death was his high school sweetheart and wife of 54 years, the late Dorothy, nee Scovie, Nielsen; loving father of two sons, Robert (Charlene) and John (Vickie) Nielsen; four grandchildren, Christian, Nicholas, Kirsten and Jason and six great-grandchildren, Hunter, Tanner, Brenna, Caetlin, Alyssa and Ashley. Before and after World War Two, Bob worked briefly with Tews Funeral Home and U.S. Steel.

A Ft. Bragg paratrooper who says he left his Army barracks last summer because he was disillusioned with U.S. actions in Iraq surrendered to military authorities Friday. Sgt. Ricky Clousing, 24, had walked away from Ft. Bragg on June 23, 2005, with only a few clothes and his surfboard. He said earlier Friday that he hopes airborne soldiers at the post, where thousands are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, will respect his reasons. "I don't expect indoctrinated soldiers to have the capacity to understand why I'm doing what I'm doing.

President Bush said Tuesday that insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan are violent, yet vulnerable, and urged U.S. troops to march on in the fight for freedom so Americans can celebrate Independence Day year-round. At an outdoor pep rally for troops at Ft. Bragg, Bush recalled the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, who died last month in a U.S. airstrike that boosted troop morale and offered hope to Americans weary of the war. "At this moment of vulnerability for the enemy, we will continue to strike their network," Bush told 3,500 U.S. troops and others at an outdoor speech at the home of the 82nd Airborne Division.

The Army has charged seven paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division with engaging in sex acts in video shown on a Web site, authorities said Friday. Three of the soldiers face courts-martial on charges of sodomy, pandering and engaging in sex acts for money, the Army said. Four other soldiers received what the military calls non-judicial punishments. The Army has recommended that all be discharged. The division had been investigating allegations that soldiers appeared on a gay pornography site.

Roger J. Patzer of Palatine, one of the founding trustees of the Elk Grove Village Board, was a retired civil engineer and land developer who served as president of two companies he started in Arlington Heights. "He enjoyed what he did and he worked a lot, but he always made time for family," said his daughter Barbara Martinek. Mr. Patzer, 81, died Monday, Dec. 12, in his home after a long battle with cancer. He was born in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood, the ninth of 12 children.

The Pentagon has ordered 1,500 additional troops to Iraq to provide security in advance of two upcoming votes, the military announced Wednesday. Two infantry battalions from the 82nd Airborne Division, based at Ft. Bragg, N.C., will deploy to Iraq before the scheduled Oct. 15 referendum on the proposed constitution, and remain through the December national elections, officials said. They will join the 138,000 U.S. troops already there. The battalions are expected to remain in Iraq for 120 days.